Search results for ""author weird"

Statistical mechanics is our tool for deriving the laws that emerge from complex systems. Sethna's text distills the subject to be accessible to those in all realms of science and engineering -- avoiding extensive use of quantum mechanics, thermodynamics, and molecular physics. Statistical mechanics explains how bacteria search for food, and how DNA replication is proof-read in biology; optimizes data compression, and explains transitions in complexity in computer science; explains the onset of chaos, and launched random matrix theory in mathematics; addresses extreme events in engineering; and models pandemics and language usage in the social sciences. Sethna's exercises introduce physicists to these triumphs and a hundred others -- broadening the horizons of scholars both practicing and nascent. Flipped classrooms and remote learning can now rely on 33 pre-class exercises that test reading comprehension (Emergent vs. fundamental; Weirdness in high dimensions; Aging, entropy and DNA), and 70 in-class activities that illuminate and broaden knowledge (Card shuffling; Human correlations; Crackling noises). Science is awash in information, providing ready access to definitions, explanations, and pedagogy. Sethna's text focuses on the tools we use to create new laws, and on the fascinating simple behavior in complex systems that statistical mechanics explains.

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Amy Sedaris meets the nihilistic spirit of millennial/Gen Z humor with a healthy dose of Lisa Frank in Shitty Craft Club: a guide that allows burnt-out, pressured people to accept their imperfections and find inner calm with whatever shitty thing they can make. Did you know that you are a glorious and incredible artist? Wait, really? Well, you are. Through silly and deeply relatable tales from her life, Sam Reece, founder of the Shitty Craft Club, guides you through dozens of craft projects that give you permission to be as weird, wild, and wonderful as you want to be. Making a bunch of pom-poms so you can be your own cheerleader? That's a craft. Sculpting a rhinestone shrimp out of aluminum foil and a glue gun? A craft. Having literally one sip of water (congrats, by the way)? Yup, you bet - a craft. Here at the Shitty Craft Club, there's no limit to what a craft can be, because life is hard. So why not spend a bit of time gluing some trash to more trash if it makes you happy? This is your sign to embrace anti-perfectionism. Join us at the Shitty Craft Club!

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41 plants that will literally take your breath away. Or even eat you! There are many books about Plants. This title does not show the best known, but the most weird and phantastic ones. Welcome to this botanical garden, where human feet have not trodden for many years. Actually, one has-or rather a pair of them have. They belong to a passionate botanist who spends all his time in the company of flowers. He does not seem interested in people, as he feels himself to be a plant rather than a member of the species homo sapiens. He may seem strange-or even scary, like anything unknown-but rest assured that he is completely harmless just like his plants are . . . unless you’re a fly or a beetle, which his carnivorous plants love to eat, that is. No worries, those meat lovers might possibly snatch at your snack if you have a ham sandwich or a sausage in your bag, but that’s all. hough some of the plants from this forgotten botanical garden look predatory at first sight, even spooky, they are still just plants that can never catch you. Enough talking, though! Keep your hats on as our tour of the botanical garden begins . . .

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These projects are fun to build and fun to use Make lights dance to music, play with radio remote control, or build your own metal detector Who says the Science Fair has to end? If you love building gadgets, this book belongs on your radar. Here are complete directions for building ten cool creations that involve light, sound, or vibrations -- a weird microphone, remote control gizmos, talking toys, and more, with full parts and tools lists, safety guidelines, and wiring schematics. Check out ten cool electronics projects, including * Chapter 8 -- Surfing the Radio Waves (how to make your own radio) * Chapter 9 -- Scary Pumpkins (crazy Halloween decorations that have sound, light, and movement) * Chapter 12 -- Hitting Paydirt with an Electronic Metal Detector (a project that can pay for itself) Discover how to * Handle electronic components safely * Read a circuit diagram * Troubleshoot circuits with a multimeter * Build light-activated gadgets * Set up a motion detector * Transform electromagnetic waves into sound Companion Web site * Go to www.dummies.com/go/electronicsprojectsfd * Explore new projects with other electronics hobbyists * Find additional information and project opportunities

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This is a thrill-ride of an adventure, with illustrations by Ben Mantle bringing Boot's world to life. Fans of Toy Story and Charlie Changes into a Chicken will love this hilarious, warm-hearted story about a small robot on a big adventure, full of fun, friendship and a warehouse full of bouncy castles.'Fast, funny and furious. These are definitely my favourite robots.' Eoin ColferToy robot Boot has come a long way since it woke up in a scrapyard with only two and a half glitchy memories. It has a home with its robot pals in an abandoned amusement arcade, and has discovered what true happiness is - although it's still not sure why humans are so leaky and weird ... But when Boot and the gang stumble upon Rusty, an old, broken robot, forgotten in the back of a testing lab, it's time to spring into action. Boot knows there's something special about Rusty - but can they free the old robot and help it find its purpose?Illustrated throughout in glorious black and white by the award-winning Ben Mantle, this is an unforgettable tale of resilience and hope. Read more of Boot's adventures - shortlisted for the Sainsbury's Book Award - including Boot: small robot: BIG adventure and The Creaky Creatures.

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THE TIKTOK SENSATION Meet BUNNY: the darkly funny, spellbinding trip of a novel that EVERYONE is talking about 'No punches pulled, no hilarities dodged, no meme unmangled. O Bunny you are sooo genius!' MARGARET ATWOOD We call them Bunnies because that is what they call each other. Seriously. Bunny. Samantha Heather Mackey is an outsider in her small, highly selective MFA program at Warren University. In fact, she is utterly repelled by the rest of her fiction writing cohort – a clique of unbearably twee rich girls who call each other 'Bunny'. But then the Bunnies issue her with an invitation and Samantha finds herself inexplicably drawn to their front door, across the threshold, and down their rabbit hole. Blending sharp satire with fairytale horror, Bunny provides a hilarious look at the dark side of female friendship from one of fiction's most original voices. 'The Secret History meets Jennifer's Body. Brilliant, sharp, weird... I loved it and I couldn't put it down.' KRISTEN ROUPENIAN 'Made me nod and cackle in terrified recognition.' LENA DUNHAM 'Hilarious, hallucinogenic freakery.' DAILY MAIL 'Cerebral and complusively readable.' VANITY FAIR

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Football School Epic Heroes is part of the bestselling Football School series, which teaches you about the world through football, packed with superstar stories, fun facts and laugh-out-loud illustrations. Perfect for readers 7+ and recommended by the National Literacy Trust, BookTrust, the Premier League and parents and teachersCelebrate the greatest names and teams in football history with this collection of 50 true stories.Discover the greatest football moments of all time in this collection of 50 exciting stories, perfect for fans of Football School: Star Players. Discover the incredible stories of heroes such as Messi, Ronaldo, Klopp and Rapinoe, but also the tales of the dog that helped win the league for his team and the team who won the championship with the very final kick of the game. Bringing together the best names in the game with some truly weird, wonderful and hilarious occurrences, this book is a must-read for any young football fan.“We love this book series!” Match of the Day Weekly “Intelligent, inspiring, funny” Head of Education, Premier League Collect the series! Football School Season 1­–4 Star Players Epic Heroes Football School Terrific Teams 20 Fantastic Football Stories The Amazing Quiz Book The Incredible Joke Book The Ultimate Puzzle Book The Greatest Ever Quiz Book – out in 2022!

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Since 1973 KISS has recorded over 20 studio albums; been recognized as an innovator in rock presentations; witnessed a firestorm of rumors and controversies; remained a thorn in critics' sides; and continues to surprise its massive fan-following the KISS Army with various career twists and turns. Moreover many television shows movies toys and even comics have kept KISS a bigger-than-life name in entertainment for decades.ÞYet with all that has been written over the years there are subjects that fans have never put to rest when it comes to the hottest band in the land : What were the most significant concerts? Why did ÊPhantom of the ParkÊ turn out that way? What were the best ä and worst ä album covers? How did the comics come about? And what the heck is a deuce?ÞThese subjects and more appear in ÊKISS FAQÊ ä showcasing the good bad and the weird that has made KISS the legendary ultimate rock-and-roll party band still going strong after 40 years. Accompanying this entertaining work of solid rock scholarship are dozens of rare images ä from posters to live shots and beyond. Also included is a foreword by Bill Starkey the creator of the original KISS Army.

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From male bisexuality to religion in pop, Little Richard spent the 1950s pioneering ideas that are still too challenging for the mainstream. As a Black multimillionaire rock star, he was the most exciting person on the planet between 1955 and 1957, the years in which his seismic debut album was created. Featuring new interviews with famous fans including Sir Elton John, Dave Grohl, Joan Jett and Nile Rodgers, this is the first in-depth look at Here’s Little Richard since Richard Penniman’s death in May 2020. The book explores his roots in the queer underground of the American South, a scene so progressive you’d scarcely believe it thrived seven decades ago, and early rebel music such as jump blues, which soon collided with the emerging juggernaut that was rock’n’roll. When that weird alchemy occurred, the self-proclaimed Living Flame was ready to spark the likes of The Beatles, David Bowie and Prince into existence. Those close to the tale pinpoint the ways in which ‘Long Tall Sally’ and ‘Tutti Frutti’ remain omnipresent – and why the latter was the ‘WAP’ of its day. This is the story of how Little Richard changed the world in 28 minutes and 30 seconds. A-wop-bop-a-loo-bop-a-lop-bam-boom!

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Looking across the cultural landscape of the twenty-first century, its literature, film, television, comic books, and other media, we can see multiple examples of what Shelley S. Rees calls a “changeling western,” what others have called “weird westerns,” and what Michael K. Johnson refers to as “speculative westerns”—that is, hybrid western forms created by merging the western with one or more speculative genres or subgenres, including science fiction, fantasy, horror, and alternate history.Speculative Wests investigates both speculative westerns and other speculative texts that feature western settings. Just as “western” refers both to a genre and a region, Johnson’s narrative involves a study of both genre and place, a study of the “speculative Wests” that have begun to emerge in contemporary texts such as the zombie-threatened California of Justina Ireland’s Deathless Divide (2020), the reimagined future Navajo nation of Rebecca Roanhorse’s Sixth World series (2018–19), and the complex temporal and geographic borderlands of Alfredo Véa’s time travel novel The Mexican Flyboy (2016). Focusing on literature, film, and television from 2016 to 2020, Speculative Wests creates new visions of the American West.

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When Hector Coleman and his mates genetically mutate overnight, their lives change in impossible ways ... A comic-book inspired adventure for fans of Stephen King and Charlie Higson.Hector Coleman. Just your average angst-ridden teenager, living a normal rubbish life in a normal rubbish town with, let's face it, a rubbish name. But then all the teens in Hector's small town develop weird mutations, and not in a superhero-type way. Someone gets transparent skin, someone else starts breathing fire ... and that doesn't end well. What the hell is going on? Hector and his friends need to find out, before it's too late.It's a bit like Stranger Things, only stranger. Everything has changed. Apart from Hector's name. And his girl trouble. And his embarrassingly low number of Twitter followers. All those things, unfortunately, stay the same. For now ...A warm, funny novel about friendship, family, and being different - oh, plus aliens, mutants and some serious scares ... 'This is one of the weirdest books I have read - I loved it! If you ever imagined that people who get special gifts always turn out to be super-heroes, think again ... a sort of cross between super-hero story, sci-fi, detective story, love story ... More like this, please.' Melvin Burgess

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“Chickens are a lot more mainstream than veganism and a little bit like kombucha: super weird twenty years ago, now somewhat popular and made even more so by logos, brands, and hashtags.” So begins Gina Warren’s deep dive into the backyard chicken movement. Digging into its history and food politics, she provides a highly personal account of the movement’s social and cultural motivations, the regulations it faces, and the ways that chicken owners build community. Weaving together interviews with urban agriculture advocates, entrepreneurs such as a $225 per hour “chicken consultant,” animal rights campaigners, and a fabulous cross-section of chicken enthusiasts, Warren sheds light on Americans’ complex relationship with animals—as guardians, companions, and eaters—and what it means to be a conscious eater. As Warren chronicles her own misadventures raising chickens, her pursuit of what’s best for her own flock leads past chicken tutus and gourmet chicken treats and into serious attempts at sustainable eating, such as cooking insects and dumpster diving. The result is a fresh and charming story that speaks to backyard chicken owners, while also raising questions about sustainable farming, industrial agriculture, and our connections with the animals we love.

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"A world of green: a new and weird world of grim, dark shadows and frenzied activity; of conflicting sounds varying from the roar and thunder of overhead gantries, the sharp, shrill staccato beat of automatic hammers, to the echoing ring of steel upon steel, and the hollow wheezing and thumping of the hydraulic moulding machines".Starting as an apprentice at Bevan's foundry, Ieuan Morgan enters a new and testing world. His colleagues soon turn out to be his tormentors while life at home is not without its challenges. It is hard for the young man to sustain his dreams of one day being a writer, and of a better world. Things have to get worse before getting better so unemployment casts its long shadow over the town. But the lay-offs give the gifted Ieuan time to read and think and on a visit to the fair to meet Sally, a gentle, consumptiveyoung woman from the wrong side of the tracks.With this, his destiny changes course. Written with a deep authenticity born from bitter experience, William Glynne-Jones depicts life in the fictional town of Abermor and especially the daily grind of foundry life, in a workplace fraught with dangers. Farewell Innocence is a heartfelt and affecting account of a young man's rites of passage in hard times.

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Finn and Explorer Troop 301 get trapped on a planet riddled with viral robots in the third book of this funny chapter book series based on the award-winning kids’ podcast!Finn’s best robot bud, Foggy, comes down with a weird virus while exploring a planet full of dancing robots. But he won’t let Finn help him. Foggy only wants to dance the Hokey Pokey with his new robot friends!Now Finn and Explorers Troop 301 have to find a cure before the robots attack. But can Finn also fix his friendship with Foggy? Or will his robot BFF stay on the two-stepping planet forever?Blast off into a brand-new adventure inspired by the popular award-winning kids’ podcast! Like the podcast, the books are sort of like Scooby-Doo meets Buffy the Vampire Slayer in space. The story centers on Finn Caspian, an 8-year-old boy aboard The Famous Marlowe 280 Interplanetary Exploratory Space Station. He and his friends Abigail, Elias, and Vale are Explorers Troop 301, taking off from the Marlowe to explore uncharted planets, help the occasional alien, and solve a mystery that threatens to destroy the Marlowe.The books in this series are for kids ages 7 to 12 looking for a funny illustrated story to tear through. They contain no violence, a little bit of suspense, and some aliens who are real chuckleheads...

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The third in our award-winning Atlas series, following Dinosaur Atlas and Animal Atlas, Lonely Planet Kids’ Bug Atlas focuses on the magical miniature world of creepy crawlies. Continent by continent, we take a tour around the globe to uncover fascinating bugs, insects, scorpions, spiders and other icky things that live around, alongside - and often even on - us.Maps show where the critters live, while gatefolds and flaps open to reveal their wonderful, and sometimes very weird, mini lives. From spiders the size of dinner plates, stick insects as long as golf clubs and mega-ant colonies that stretch across countries to cannibal mantises, zombie ants, giant millipedes, beautiful butterflies, shiny iridescent beetles and more, this is a fascinating, in-depth exploration of the world of bugs.As with previous titles in this series, Bug Atlas features a mixture of art and photography, densely packed with information and illustrated with incredible images.Features include: Detailed maps of every continent showing where all the fascinating bugs live. Data boxes for each amazing species, listing its name, size, habitat, diet and more. Life-size elements, both big and small, showing you just how enormous a goliath-bird eating spider is (you don’t want to know) to tiny bugs that share our homes almost unnoticed. Incredible macro photography revealing the minute detail of these minibeasts Animal Adaptations – Showing how each species is perfectly adapted for its environment, including the amazing camouflage of leaf insects. About Lonely Planet Kids: Lonely Planet Kids - an imprint of the world's leading travel authority Lonely Planet - published its first book in 2011. Over the past 45 years, Lonely Planet has grown a dedicated global community of travelers, many of whom are now sharing a passion for exploration with their children. Lonely Planet Kids educates and encourages young readers at home and in school to learn about the world with engaging books on culture, sociology, geography, nature, history, space and more. We want to inspire the next generation of global citizens and help kids and their parents to approach life in a way that makes every day an adventure. Come explore!

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Culture has been referred to as a shared frame, the lens through which group members make sense of the world. It has been robustly linked to economic outcomes on the macro level and is also directly linked to decision-making: in recent years, experimental and behavioral economists have found evidence that culture impacts behavior in games and impacts value orientation, trust, fairness, cooperation and enforcement. Culture research in experimental economics is still in its early stages and part of the challenge is methodological and conceptual: how to measure culture and how to define the level at which individuals share a culture. In the coming years, this research will help delineate where the results from our current experiments apply. For example, do current results speak specifically to WEIRD (Western Educated Industrialized Rich Democracies) societies? Do they say something more fundamental about human nature across time, experience, and geography? With increasing migration and globalization, subject pools may become more culturally diverse and cultural questions therefore increasingly important for experimentalists. The contributions in this volume are both conceptual and experimental. The earlier chapters discuss new approaches to the measurement of culture and how to conceptualize and define values and beliefs and the groups that share them. The latter experimental chapters contribute to the growing body of literature that documents cultural differences in social and economic behavior.

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'Wide ranging, backed by science and research, informative and easy to understand, this is a great book for the sleep-deprived' Lisa Artis, The Sleep CouncilWhen was the last time you had a proper night's sleep?In today's fast-paced, non-stop world, research by the UK's Sleep Council has found that almost a third of us don't get enough sleep most nights. Insomnia can wreak havoc on everyday life - leaving us feeling exhausted, irritable and unwell. Lack of sleep has also been linked to a whole host of long-term chronic conditions including Type 2 diabetes, heart disease, stroke, high blood pressure, obesity and depression.But don't despair - help is at hand! This book is packed with easy to read and simple to follow tips, as well as some weird and wonderful tricks, all gathered from expert scientific research, that will help you fall asleep and stay asleep. You may be surprised to learn that everything from having a purpose in life to warming your feet, from what you eat through the day to how you breathe, from how much time you spend outdoors to reframing your thoughts and mindset can all help you get a better night's rest.A good night's sleep can help change your life for the better, and this book will help you to achieve it.

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A wonderfully written and entertaining book which places Britain under the microscope and asks who we are today and how we’ve changed as a nation. ‘Entertaining and absorbing’ – The Sunday Times In 1841 there were 734 female midwives working in Britain, along with 9 artificial eye makers, 20 peg makers, 6 stamp makers and 1 bee dealer. Fast forward nearly two centuries and there are 51,000 midwives working in the UK and not an eye maker in sight! For the past two centuries, the National Census has been monitoring the behaviour of the British: our work-lives, homes lives and strange cultural habits. With questions on occupation, housing, religion, travel and family, the Census is a snapshot of a country at any given epoch, and its findings have informed the economy, politics and every other national matter for decades that followed. Now, for the first time ever, the Census findings of the past two centuries are collected in to a wonderfully written and entertaining book which places Britain under the microscope and asks who we are and how we’ve changed as a nation. On our occupations, our working lives, relationships; our quirks, habits, weird interests and cultural beliefs – this book takes the reader on a journey through the statistical findings of one of the most valuable pieces of ongoing historical research of modern times, and asks us what these fascinating numbers tells us about the Britain in the 21st century.

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The waters around Australia, the world’s smallest continent, are home to the greatest diversity of sharks and rays on Earth. Fully 100 of these sea creatures (along with their little-known relatives, the chimaerids) have been named or described since the first edition of this book—the biggest revision of the Class Chondrichthyes since the time of Linneaus. This second edition of Sharks and Rays of Australia brings more than 300 of these species to life in newly commissioned, full-color illustrations.Here, in precisely painted detail, are the weird silvery ghost shark and the remarkably camouflaged ornate wobbegong; spurdogs and swell sharks; the primitive frilled shark and the blacktip, a fast swimmer capable of leaping out of the water like a dolphin. Peter Last and John Stevens review the major shake-ups in the elasmobranch family tree—sorting out, for instance, dogfishes and skates—and include updated family keys, the latest information about species ranges, and new distribution maps. Extensively revised species descriptions reflect additional fisheries and newly gleaned life history and biological information—all essential to conservation efforts as sharks die in commercial bycatches and end up on restaurant menus. An essential tool for conservation biologists trying to save threatened sharks, now under siege worldwide, this marvelous volume will also appeal to fish biologists, divers, naturalists, commercial and recreational fishermen, and anyone with an appreciation for these ancient evolutionary survivors.

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At the start of his career, Ben Newmark assumed that all the things he was told to do, from how to teach to how to record the progress of my pupils, were well planned and necessary. Sometimes things didn't feel right and seemed bizarre but, for the first couple of years of his career, he assumed this was because he was not skilled, knowledgeable or experienced enough to understand the rationale. But he couldn't keep this up forever. So he began to ask questions. And then he asked more. And the more he learned the more confused he became. To his horror it became clear that there wasn't a masterplan. Instead, education was a world full of contradictory thinking, bad planning and unintended consequences. Each chapter of this book tries to answer one of the questions he struggled with, trying to explain the reasons for the oddness and then give some advice on how schools and individual teachers might manage it. And it is possible to do better than manage it. For all its frustrating weirdness there isn't another job in the world he'd rather do. When finally he has to retire, he will be begging his closest school to teach two or three classes a week. Including chapters such as: Why are there so many spreadsheets in schools?; Why doesn't my school behaviour system work?; Why is teaching making me so unhealthy?; and Why won't my pupils work hard?

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'Quirky, compelling and thoroughly enjoyable' Kate Ellis'A super start to the series' Frances Brody'An entertaining murder mystery . . . witty' L C Tyler Live music... and explosive death in front of an adoring audience - welcome to the world of the Mindful Detective . . .When Ethan Flynn, charismatic vocalist of supergroup Stigma, is electrocuted by his own guitar in front of 175,000 witnesses on the Pyramid stage at the Glastonbury Festival, suspicion falls on his tyrannical twin, Tyrone.Leading the murder investigation is Buddhist detective, Vincent Caine, and his partner, DI Shanti Joyce. To Shanti's consternation the pair have become known as 'the go-to team for weird stuff in the West Country' and few crimes come weirder than this. Amidst the pulsating beats of the festival, the unlikely duo struggle to untangle the wildly conflicting statements of minders, lovers, drug-fuelled roadies, and dodgy divas.Against the mystical backdrop of Glastonbury Tor and the tiny Somerset village of Kilton, the terrifying trail leads Shanti and Caine from clairvoyant Tarot readings to the cryptic lyrics of a lost song, cunningly concealed by the tragic superstar.Can the unlikely mix of Shanti's down-to-earth pragmatism and Caine's intuitive sleuthing skills solve this most singular of murders? Is the future of the world's greatest festival in peril? And what happens when two consummate professionals are forced to share a tent in the steamy heat of summer?

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Brand new adventures for Barry Loser in this new series of full colour graphic novels – perfect for fans of DogMan, Bunny vs Monkey and Kitty Quest ‘RIDONKULOUSLY FUNNY, EVERY KID SHOULD GET THEIR HOOTER INTO THIS TOTAL WINNER OF A GRAPHIC NOVEL’– Jenny Pearson, bestselling author of The Super Miraculous Journey of Freddie Yates Celebrating Barry Loser’s 10th birthday with a new series of graphic novel adventures! The bestselling, award-winning Barry Loser series is ten years old and Barry, Bunky, Nancy and the gang are off on a series of new adventures – in full colour graphic novel format and with ‘how to draw’ sections to help you make your own comic books! In the first book, Barry has had enough of being a loser and wants to prove he’s a Total Winner, but when his parents ban him from gaming he has to think outside of the box . . . Barry also has a new cat called French Fries – the keelest cat ever amen. Jim Smith’s books have sold 840k copies in the English language, and sold in 17 territories. He won the Roald Dahl Funny Prize, the Scholastic Lollies award, was shortlisted for the Waterstones prize, and had a World Book Day book. Have you got all of Jim Smith’s amazekeel books? Barry Loser: I am not a loser Barry Loser: I am still not a loser Barry Loser: I am so over being a loser Barry Loser: I am sort of a loser Barry Loser and the holiday of doom Barry Loser and the case of the crumpled carton Barry Loser hates half term Barry Loser and the birthday billions Barry Loser: worst school trip ever! Barry Loser is the best at football NOT Barry Loser and the trouble with pets My dad is a loser free ebook My mum is a loser free ebook Future Ratboy and the attack of the killer robot grannies Future Ratboy and the invasion of the nom-noms Future Ratboy and the quest for the missing thingy The Super Weird Mysteries Danger at Donut Diner Attack of the Haunted Lunchbox My Pencil Case is a Time Machine

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Longlisted for the Man Booker Prize 2016Observer Best Fiction of 2016Den of Geek Top Books of 2016Timothy Buchannan buys an abandoned house on the edge of an isolated village on the coast, sight unseen. When he sees the state of it he questions the wisdom of his move, but starts to renovate the house for his wife, Lauren to join him there.When the villagers see smoke rising from the chimney of the neglected house they are disturbed and intrigued by the presence of the incomer, intrigue that begins to verge on obsession. And the longer Timothy stays, the more deeply he becomes entangled in the unsettling experience of life in the small village. Ethan, a fisherman, is particularly perturbed by Timothy’s arrival, but accedes to Timothy’s request to take him out to sea. They set out along the polluted coastline, hauling in weird fish from the contaminated sea, catches that are bought in whole and removed from the village. Timothy starts to ask questions about the previous resident of his house, Perran, questions to which he receives only oblique answers and increasing hostility. As Timothy forges on despite the villagers’ animosity and the code of silence around Perran, he starts to question what has brought him to this place and is forced to confront a painful truth. The Many is an unsettling tale that explores the impact of loss and the devastation that hits when the foundations on which we rely are swept away.

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Watch out, Flash...this time, the trick's on you! No one can pull a trick like James Jesse, the original Trickster. As a member of Flash's Rogues Gallery, Jesse was disrespectful, disregarded, adn finally supplanted by a new, flashier Trickster. But you cna't beat the original...and for his next trick, Jesse is going to change Flash's world forever! Barry Allen's life has already been turned upside down by the death of a beloved speedster and the demise of his relationship with Iris West. Now he returns to Central City to find something he's never seen before: everyone's happy. Unsettingly happy. Unnaturally happy. But Flash can't get in on the good vibes when there's a mystery to solve. On top of all the other weirdness, Flash's ally form the future, Commander Cold, has disappeared. All the clues point to something going on at Iron Heights Prison, so that's where Barry starts his investigation. But you know what they say: the most important part of any trick is misdirection. And while Flash thinks he's solving one mystery, the Trickster is about to pull off his greatest trick right under Barry's nose...and make himself a leegend among all Rogues! Fan-favorite creators Joshua Williamson (Batman/The Flash: The Button) and Scott Kolins (Blue Beetle) continue their epic run with the Fastest Man Alive! Collects The Flash #66-69 and Annual #2.

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The Australian novelist and playwright Helen de Guerry Simpson (1897-1940) published many supernatural short stories. This new edition selects the best of her unsettling writing, adding some little-known stories to her 1925 collection The Baseless Fabric. Featured stories include: 'An Experiment of the Dead', in which a visitor comes to visit a woman in the condemned cell. 'Good Company', in which a traveller in Italy becomes temporarily possessed of a hitchhiker in her mind. 'Grey Sand and White Sand' is the horrifying story of a landscape artist who sees and paints a different view. 'The Outcast', in which a soldier left for dead in the War takes his revenge on his village. 'The Rite', in which a discontented woman enters a wood, and emerges transformed. Helen de Guerry Simpson was born in Sydney, New South Wales, and studied at Oxford. Her novel Boomerang won the James Tait Black Memorial Prize for 1932. She died from cancer in 1940. Her close friend, the novelist Margaret Kennedy, took charge of Simpson's daughter Clemence during the war while Simpson was in her last illness. Clemence and Simpson both feature in Kennedy's wartime memoir, Where Stands A Winged Sentry, also published by Handheld Press. The Introduction is by Melissa Edmundson, the leading scholar of women's Weird fiction and supernatural writing from the early 20th century.

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Unlock your ability to unfluster your parenting by identifying your anxiety style so you can turn frustration to flourishing Many moms live under the weight of seemingly constant fear. Moms worry about everything from their kids’ safety and emotional health to that weird little rash on their ankle. They are the referees, social planners, medics, financial consultants, cooks, travel agents, educational specialists, family therapists, and housekeepers. It’s utterly exhausting. Unfortunately, it’s not just exhausting, it leaves them flustered. Most of us don’t have access to the support or resources we need to manage being flustered in a healthier way. Women end up with symptoms ranging from “mom guilt” and “mommy brain” to depression, anxiety, panic attacks, substance abuse, and eating disorders. Moms are more flustered now than ever before. Even women who have no previous experience with anxiety or depression find themselves changed as a result of the physiological shifts, emotional isolation, hormonal imbalances, and unrealistic expectations that accompany motherhood.The Unflustered Mom offers a healthy alternative for dealing with mom-fears. Moms can identify their anxiety, better understand their triggers, their clues, their contributing factors, and their false beliefs. Then, they’ll learn practical tools that can help to dismantle the fears no longer serving them—turn their fluster into flourish.

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A School Library Journal Best Graphic Novel of 2019 A YALSA 2020 Quick Pick for Reluctant Young Adult Readers A YALSA 2020 Great Graphic Novel for Teens Sabrina the Teenage Witch meets Roller Girl in this hilarious, one-of-a-kind graphic novel about a half-witch who has just discovered the truth about herself, her family, and her town and is doing her best to survive middle school now that she knows everything!Magic is harder than it looks. Thirteen-year-old Moth Hush loves all things witchy. But she’s about to discover that witches aren’t just the stuff of movies, books, and spooky stories. When some eighth-grade bullies try to ruin her Halloween, something really strange happens. It turns out that Founder’s Bluff, Massachusetts, has a centuries-old history of witch drama. And, surprise: Moth’s family is at the center of it all! When Moth’s new powers show up, things get totally out-of-control. She meets a talking cat, falls into an enchanted diary, and unlocks a hidden witch world. Secrets surface from generations past as Moth unravels the complicated legacy at the heart of her town, her family, and herself. In this spellbinding graphic novel debut, Emma Steinkellner spins a story packed with humor and heart about the weird and wonderful adventures of a witch-in-progress.

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'Electric Wizard is heavy, man - we don't sing about love and flowers.' Jus ObornIn 1993, in the market town of Wimborne Minster in Dorset, England, the heaviest band in the world was born. Led by guitarist and singer Jus Oborn, Electric Wizard began as an untameable power trio. They inhaled the iniquity of their lives and vomited it out in colossal waves of doom metal, synthesising the forbidding local landscape, biker culture, video-nasties, black magic rituals and titanic doses of psychedelics. In 1997 they released their revolutionary second album, Come My Fanatics... Then, after triumphant and calamitous tours of the USA and following the release of arguably the heaviest rock album ever recorded, 2000's Dopethrone, Electric Wizard all but imploded, destroyed by the very reality they were fighting against. However, when guitarist Liz Buckingham joined Oborn on guitar for We Live, they drew a magic circle around themselves in a new line-up that went on to explore deeper occult horrors on modern doom classic Witchcult Today onwards. Come My Fanatics is a kaleidoscopic exploration of the subculture the band has absorbed and, in turn, created. From seventies exploitation cinema, through the writers of Weird Tales magazine and a panoply of the marginal and downright sinister, to the band's own live ceremonial happenings - this is Electric Wizard's world. We're just dying in it.

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The story of video games is often told as the successive rise of computers and consoles from famous names like Atari, Commodore, Nintendo, Sega, Sony and Microsoft. But beyond this familiar tale, there’s a whole world of weird and wonderful gaming machines that seldom get talked about. Curious Video Game Machines reveals the fascinating stories behind a bevy of rare and unusual consoles, computers and coin-ops – like Kimtanktics, a 1970s wargame computer made out of calculator parts, or the suite of Korea-exclusive consoles made by car manufacturer Daewoo. Then there’s the Casio Loopy, a 1990s console that doubled up as a sticker printer, the RDI Halcyon, a 1985 LaserDisc-based machine that could recognise your voice, and the Interton VC 4000, a German console made by a hearing-aid company, as well as a range of bizarre arcade machines, from early attempts at virtual reality to pedal-powered flying contraptions. There are tales of missed opportunities, like the astonishingly powerful Enterprise 64 computer, which got caught in development hell and arrived too late to make an impact on the British microcomputer market. And there are tales of little-known triumphs, like the Galaksija DIY computer kit that introduced a whole generation of Yugoslavians to computing before the country became engulfed by war. Featuring exclusive interviews with creators, developers and collectors, Curious Video Game Machines finally shines a light on the forgotten corners of video-game history.

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The new book from the bestselling author of Flesh Wounds. A funny and frank look at the way Australia used to be - and just how far we have come. 'It was simpler time'. We had more fun back then'. 'Everyone could afford a house'.There's plenty of nostalgia right now for the Australia of the past, but what was it really like?In The Land Before Avocado, Richard Glover takes a journey to an almost unrecognisable Australia. It's a vivid portrait of a quite peculiar land: a place that is scary and weird, dangerous and incomprehensible, and, now and then, surprisingly appealing.It's the Australia of his childhood. The Australia of the late '60s and early '70s.Let's break the news now: they didn't have avocado.It's a place of funny clothing and food that was appalling, but amusingly so. It is also the land of staggeringly awful attitudes - often enshrined in law - towards anybody who didn't fit in.The Land Before Avocado will make you laugh and cry, feel angry and inspired. And leave you wondering how bizarre things were, not so long ago.Most of all, it will make you realise how far we've come - and how much further we can go.PRAISERichard Glover's just-published The Land Before Avocado is a wonderful and witty journey back in time to life in the early 1970s. For a start, he deftly reclaims the book's title fruit from those who have positioned it as a proxy for all that is wrong with today's supposedly feckless and spendthrift young adults. Rather than maligning the avocado (and young people), he cleverly appropriates the fruit as an exemplar of how far we have come since the 1970s' Richard Wakelin, Australian Financial Review'This is vintage Glover - warm, wise and very, very funny. Brimming with excruciating insights into life in the late sixties and early seventies, The Land Before Avocado explains why this was the cultural revolution we had to have' Hugh Mackay 'Hilarious and horrifying, this is the ultimate intergenerational conversation starter' Annabel Crabb PRAISE FOR FLESH WOUNDS'A funny, moving, very entertaining memoir' Bill Bryson, New York Times 'The best Australian memoir I've read is Richard Glover's Flesh Wounds' Greg Sheridan, TheAustralian

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Enter the world of robots with this fast-fact-packed exploration of all things robot-related. It's the perfect way for children aged 9 plus to brush up on their S.T.E.M. stats and cement what they have learned in class with this fun book.Robots explores the most incredible, weird and awe-inspiring facts about all kinds of robot in bite-sized chunks of text, so readers won't be overwhelmed with information. Funny illustrations and photos are designed to hold their interest, and help them engage with S.T.E.M. topics.Robots takes a look at all sorts of robot: some work in space, some work for the military and some may even work inside the human body! The book covers all kinds of robot essentials, such as inputs and outputs and how robots 'think' and 'learn'. There is also a fun activity to build a bug bot for budding STEMsters to try out!The Stupendous and Tremendous Technology series is ideal for all children aged 9+ who are studying S.T.E.M. topics at school or who simply have a fascination with how things work. It covers all the core topics in a fun and accessible way.Title in the series:Clever and Crafty ComputersMega and Mighty MachinesRemarkable and Roving RobotsTerrific and Trailblazing TransportAlso available is Stupendous and Tremendous Science:Ecstatic and Excellent EnergyHappy and Healthy Human BodyPowerful and Pongy PlantsSoaring and Spectacular Space

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Shortlisted, Alistair MacLeod Award for Short Fiction, New Brunswick Book Award for Fiction, and Thomas Raddall Atlantic Fiction AwardOne of Canada's literary treasures, Mark Anthony Jarman returns with a book of moving and often funny tales of a man's quest for himself. A.S. Byatt says that his writing is "extraordinary, his stories gripping," and in this gorgeous new collection, Jarman delivers something new once again. In Knife Party at the Hotel Europa, Jarman writes about losing and finding love, marriage and melancholy, the dislocation and redemptive power of travel in Italy's sensual summer. A man travels to Italy to escape the memory of love lost, and a marriage ended. He passes through sun-drenched landscapes of cliffs and seaside paradises, while the corpses of refugees wash up on the beach; he parties with the young and beautiful Italians he meets on the train while a man bleeds to death in the hallway. A teenage thief prowls the roof of the tourist hotel at night; an embassy is bombed; holy statues come alive to roam in a gang stealing used restaurant grease. He suffers the acute loneliness of one who has abandoned and been abandoned, and in this exquisite suffering, he finds how beautiful this life can be. In vivid, sensuous prose, Jarman's stories circle and overlap in surprising, weird, and wonderful ways. Tangents turn out to be crucial, allusions are powerful.

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Shortlisted, Alistair MacLeod Award for Short Fiction, New Brunswick Book Award for Fiction, and Thomas Raddall Atlantic Fiction AwardOne of Canada's literary treasures, Mark Anthony Jarman returns with a book of moving and often funny tales of a man's quest for himself. A.S. Byatt says that his writing is "extraordinary, his stories gripping," and in this gorgeous new collection, Jarman delivers something new once again. In Knife Party at the Hotel Europa, Jarman writes about losing and finding love, marriage and melancholy, the dislocation and redemptive power of travel in Italy's sensual summer. A man travels to Italy to escape the memory of love lost, and a marriage ended. He passes through sun-drenched landscapes of cliffs and seaside paradises, while the corpses of refugees wash up on the beach; he parties with the young and beautiful Italians he meets on the train while a man bleeds to death in the hallway. A teenage thief prowls the roof of the tourist hotel at night; an embassy is bombed; holy statues come alive to roam in a gang stealing used restaurant grease. He suffers the acute loneliness of one who has abandoned and been abandoned, and in this exquisite suffering, he finds how beautiful this life can be. In vivid, sensuous prose, Jarman's stories circle and overlap in surprising, weird, and wonderful ways. Tangents turn out to be crucial, allusions are powerful.

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The first fantasy-writing textbook to combine a historical genre overview with an anthology and comprehensive craft guide, this book explores the blue prints of one of the most popular forms of genre fiction. The first section will acquaint readers with the vast canon of existing fantasy fiction and outline the many sub-genres encompassed within it before examining the important relationship between fantasy and creative writing, the academy and publishing. A craft guide follows which equips students with the key concepts of storytelling as they are impacted by writing through a fantastical lens. These include: - Character and dialogue - Point of view - Plot and structure - Worldbuilding settings, ideologies and cultures - Style and revision The third section guides students through the spectrum of styles as they are classified in fantasy fiction from Epic and high fantasy, through Lovecraftian and Weird fiction, to magical realism and hybrid fantasy. An accompanying anthology will provide students with a greater awareness of the range of possibilities open to them as fantasy writers and will feature such writers as Ursula Le Guin, China Miéville, Theodora Goss, Emrys Donaldson, Ken Liu, C.S.E. Cooney, Vandana Singh, Sofia Samatar, Rebecca Roanhorse, Jessie Ulmer, Yxta Maya Murray, and Rachael K. Jones. With writing exercises, prompts, additional online resources and cues for further reading throughout, this is an essential resource for anyone wanting to write fantastical fiction.

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What is quantum mechanics? Learn from the experts in the ALL-NEW LADYBIRD EXPERT SERIESA clear, simple and entertaining introduction to the weird, mind-bending world of the very, very small.Written by physicist and broadcaster Professor Jim Al-Khalili, Quantum Mechanics explores all the key players, breakthroughs, controversies and unanswered questions of the quantum world.You'll discover:- How the sun shines- Why light is both a wave and a particle- The certainty of the Uncertainty Principle- Schrodinger's Cat- Einstein's spooky action- How to build a quantum computer- Why quantum mechanics drives even its experts completely crazy'Jim Al-Khalili has done an admirable job of condensing the ideas of quantum physics from Max Planck to the possibilities of quantum computers into brisk, straightforward English' THE TIMESLearn about other topics in the Ladybird Experts series including The Big Bang, Gravity, Climate Change and Evolution.Written by the leading lights and most outstanding communicators in their fields, the Ladybird Expert books provide clear, accessible and authoritative introductions to subjects drawn from science, history and culture. For an adult readership, the Ladybird Expert series is produced in the same iconic small format pioneered by the original Ladybirds. Each beautifully illustrated book features the first new illustrations produced in the original Ladybird style for nearly forty years.

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Discover the weird and wacky history of the Romans!Who was the maddest Roman emperor? Why didn't the Romans use toilet paper? And just how dangerous was a Roman tortoise? A Question of History: Ancient Rome answers all these questions and much more.With an engaging question and answer format, this series draws young readers into the fascinating, sometimes gruesome, world of famous peoples and civilisations through history. Each spread opens with a simple question, opening up an exploration of an aspect of the life of a people or civilisation and busting some popular myths along the way!The lively design is supported by annotated photos and cartoons, making history fun and accessible for readers aged 8+.Titles in the series: What happened the pharaoh's brain? And other questions about the Ancient EgyptiansDid the kings of Benin really keep pet leopards? And other questions about the kingdom of BeninDid the Celts really use hair gel? And other questions about the Stone Age, Iron Age and Bronze AgeWhy did the ancient Greeks use elephants in battle? And other questions about the ancient GreeksWhy did the Maya stick needles in their tongues? And other questions about the MayaDid the Romans really eat flamingos? And other questions about the RomansWhy did the Shang write on turtles? And other questions about the Shang Dynasty Did the Vikings really wear horns on their helmets? And other questions about the Vikings

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Future rock star or friendless misfit? That’s no choice at all. In this acclaimed novel by Newbery Medalist Erin Entrada Kelly, twelve-year-old Apple grapples with being different; with friends and backstabbers; and with following her dreams.Publishers Weekly called Blackbird Fly “a true triumph,” and the Los Angeles Times Book Review said, “Apple soars like the eponymous blackbird of her favorite Beatles song.”Apple has always felt a little different from her classmates. She and her mother moved to Louisiana from the Philippines when she was little, and her mother still cooks Filipino foods and chastises Apple for becoming “too American.” When Apple’s friends turn on her and everything about her life starts to seem weird and embarrassing, Apple turns to music. If she can just save enough to buy a guitar and learn to play, maybe she can change herself. It might be the music that saves her . . . or it might be her two new friends, who show her how special she really is.Erin Entrada Kelly deftly brings Apple’s conflicted emotions to the page in her debut novel about family, friendship, popularity, and going your own way. “A must-read for those kids cringing at their own identities.”—Bulletin of the Center for Children’s Books.

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Winner of the Louis Gottschalk PrizeWinner of the Thomas J. Wilson Memorial Prize“Witty and full of fascinating details.”—Los Angeles TimesWhy are there restaurants? Why would anybody consider eating alongside perfect strangers in a loud and crowded room to be an enjoyable pastime? To find the answer, Rebecca Spang takes us back to France in the eighteenth century, when a restaurant was not a place to eat but a quasi-medicinal bouillon not unlike the bone broths of today.This is a book about the French revolution in taste—about how Parisians invented the modern culture of food, changing the social life of the world in the process. We see how over the course of the Revolution, restaurants that had begun as purveyors of health food became symbols of aristocratic greed. In the early nineteenth century, the new genre of gastronomic literature worked within the strictures of the Napoleonic state to transform restaurants yet again, this time conferring star status upon oysters and champagne.“An ambitious, thought-changing book…Rich in weird data, unsung heroes, and bizarre true stories.”—Adam Gopnik, New Yorker“[A] pleasingly spiced history of the restaurant.”—New York Times“A lively, engrossing, authoritative account of how the restaurant as we know it developed…Spang is…as generous in her helpings of historical detail as any glutton could wish.”—The Times

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The English seaside has long been seductive. For 200 years, punters have sought out its quirky thrills from bingo to Wurlitzer organ dances, glamorous granny parades to child-jockeyed donkey races, lewdly shaped rock candy to harrowingly bad karaoke. But recently, many seaside towns have been pummelled by poverty, unemployment, underinvestment, addiction, Brexit, Covid-19 and the climate emergency. Writer Tom Sykes and illustrator Louis Netter take you on a Gonzo tour of 21 English coastal communities in an age of anxiety and absurdity. Their encounters are comical, sad, weird and beguiling - sometimes all at once. A post-lockdown beach party turns violent in Bournemouth. The Hampshire shores pile up with plastic waste and sewage dumped by a water company. St Osyth and Jaywick's trailer parks and makeshift homes have come to resemble a Global Southern shanty town. Covid disinformation is daubed on walls and benches across the Dorset coast. A pub in Scarborough celebrates Ulster paramilitarism. Portsmouthians come to terms with the imperial past. A Blackpudlian musician confesses an intimate connection to the serial killer Harold Shipman. But there's good news too. Combers and mudlarkers are cleaning our beaches. Art projects are drawing attention to coastal erosion and other ecological menaces. In an increasingly uniform England of red-brick estates and retail parks, seaside towns might just be our last outposts of eccentricity and individuality.

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Some people think that museums are boring places full of glass cases, dust and stuff no-one cares about: wrong! In a hidden headquarters below the exhibits there's a gang ready to handle dangerous, spooky or just plain weird problems: the Museum Mystery Squad.Techie-genius Nabster, mile-a-minute Kennedy, and sharp-eyed Laurie (along with Colin the hamster!) tackle the surprising conundrums happening at the museum. From moving pre-historic creatures and secret Egyptian codes to missing treasure and strange messages from the past, there's no brain-twisting, totally improbable puzzle the Squad can't solve.--------------There's nothing deader than a mammoth -- not just dead but completely extinct. So how can it be moving at night? In the Case of the Moving Mammoth, the Squad investigate the museum's new star exhibit, on loan from Tyrone O'Saurus, ringmaster of the travelling Dinosaur Circus. There must be a reasonable explanation for a shifting stuffed prefistoric animal. Can they sift through the clues and unravel the puzzle before the museum faces a mammoth-sized problem?---------------Young readers will love the riddles, red herrings and big reveals jam-packed into this fun-filled series of mystery stories by Mike Nicholson. The enjoyable extras like wacky facts and activities, as well as zany illustrations by Mike Phillips, will keep amateur detectives entertained for hours.

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The first in a new graphic novel series from indie comic stars Magdalene Visaggio and Jenn St-Onge is a coming-of-age story about the transformative power of friendship. And an immortal demon with the power to take over the world. But mostly the friendship thing.Welcome to Bolingbroke. It's a small town just like any other . . . or so eighth graders Val and Lanie think. They’re the best of best friends—they love the same comics, they watch the same shows, and they’re always there for each other. Which is important when you’re queer, like Lanie, or on the spectrum, like Val, and just don’t seem to fit in anywhere.When a school project about their hometown’s supernatural history leads to a for-real ghost sighting, Val and Lanie realize Bolingbroke might not be as boring as they’d always thought. But after a run-in with the resident middle school queen bee (who also happens to be Lanie’s former friend), they decide to take things to the next level . . . and accidentally summon the Ojja-Wojja, a demonic presence connected to a slew of mysterious tragedies throughout Bolingbroke’s sordid history.Now all heck has broken loose. With the whole town acting weird and nowhere left to turn, it’s going to be up to Val, Lanie, and their small group of friends to return things to normal—if “normal” is even something they want to return to.

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Marine biologist William Jones and his niece Millie are about to embark on a thrilling journey. They will travel all over the world as they search for signs of life in the planet's largest unexplored habitat. Use the magic torch included to take part in their adventure and discover weird and wonderful creatures in the deep sea such as... - a dugong lurking in the seagrass in the Great Barrier Reef - super seaweed growing in the Tasman Sea - red footed boobies dancing on the Solomon Islands - a prickly porcupine in a mangrove forest - a semi transparent salp in the Antarctic sea ice - a manta ray swimming in the Indian Ocean - ringed seals resting on the Arctic ice - hatchetfish shimmering in the Atlantic Ocean With more than 50 marine animals from around the world, this collection is perfect for ocean lovers ages 7+ · An included UV flashlight illuminates mysterious animals on each page · The third title in the popular 'Shine Your Magic Torch' series, this book visits 15 famous locations, blending the world's oceans and mythology in a beautiful package · Weaves in real-life conservation stories with light messaging on how we can protect our world's oceans Praise for Magical Creatures and Mythical Beasts "The removable thumb light encased in the cover... works unusually well. The size and diverse character of the supernatural cast give this a leg (claw, tentacle) up on most monster-hunting guides. Undeniably illuminating" - Kirkus

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For a zitty face. Take urine eight days old and heat it over the fire; wash your face with it morning and night. In late medieval England, ordinary people, apothecaries and physicians gathered up practical medical tips for everyday use. While some were sensible herbal cures, many were weird and wonderful. This book selects some of the most revolting or remarkable remedies from medieval manuscripts in the Bodleian Library in Oxford. There are embarrassing ailments and painful procedures, icky ingredients and bizarre beliefs. The would-be doctors seem oblivious to pain, and any animal, vegetable or mineral, let alone bodily fluid, can be ground up, smeared on or inserted for medical benefit. Similar ingredients are used in ‘recipes’ for how to make yourself invisible, how to make a woman love you, how to stop dogs from barking at you and how to make freckles disappear. Written in the down-to-earth speech of the time, these remedies often blur the distinction between medicine and magic. They also give a humorous insight into the strange ideas, ingenuity and bravery of men and women in the Middle Ages, and a glimpse of the often gruesome history of medicine through time. The remedies have been collected and transcribed from fifteenth-century manuscripts by students at the University of Oxford. Modern English translations, for easier reading, are given alongside the original Middle English.

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Why are you wearing THAT?! Only joking, you look great! That's the title of this book, which is all about the clothes that people have worn throughout history. Once upon a time, humans didn't wear very much at all, except for the odd animal fur. Nowadays, we have all sorts of cool, weird and wonderful fashions. But how did these fashions develop? And where did they come from? How do people even make clothes? Read this book to find out the answers to these questions and much, much more! You'll learn about three-metre-wide skirts, shoes so pointy they need to be chained to your knees, sports team kits and the future of fashion. Why Are You Wearing THAT? A history of the clothes we wear is part of the Astro range from Rising Stars Reading Planet. Astro books are ideal for struggling and reluctant readers aged 7-11. Each book is dual-banded so that children can improve their fluency whilst enjoying exciting fiction and non-fiction relevant to their age. Reading Planet books have been carefully levelled to support children in becoming fluent and confident readers. Each book features useful notes and questions to support reading at home and develop comprehension skills. Interest age: 10-11 Reading age: 7-8 years

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Maths is all around us. From a single snowflake to the changing seasons; from our favourite songs to the buildings we live in, and even the way our planet spins through space. Don't believe it? Just open up this book and discover some of the weird and wonderful ways that maths affects our everyday lives. You'll also find out about some pioneering mathematicians - from Leonardo Fibonacci, who studied sequences in numbers and nature nearly 800 years ago, to Ada Lovelace, who helped to develop the first computer codes. You can even try some challenges yourself to help you master maths. One day, you could use maths to unlock more strange secrets of the universe! The Hidden Maths Inside Everything is part of the Astro range from Rising Stars Reading Planet. Astro books are ideal for struggling and reluctant readers aged 7-11. Each book is dual-banded so that children can improve their fluency whilst enjoying exciting fiction and non-fiction relevant to their age. Reading Planet books have been carefully levelled to support children in becoming fluent and confident readers. Each book features useful notes and questions to support reading at home and develop comprehension skills. Interest age: 9-10 Reading age: 7-8 years

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With contributions from twenty-three poets, three engineers, and over thirty musicians, Pink Thunder presents a musical and lyrical experiment by award-winning songwriter / composer Michael Zapruder, to see what happens when poems are sung instead of spoken. Potent with weird, funny, and singular possibilities, Pink Thunder's playful and startling songs take their form entirely from the shape of the poems from which they are made. The result is a collection of musical readings both compelling and surprising. You are invited to listen. This full-color hardcover book reproduces the poems in lush hand-lettered versions illuminated by Arrington de Dionyso. It also contains an artist’s statement by Michael Zapruder and an introduction by Scott Pinkmountain. In addition, it comes with a CD containing twenty-two tracks. The book also features photographs from the recording sessions and the Wave Poetry Bus Tour. A one-of-a-kind project with a unique design to match, Pink Thunder will undoubtedly change the way you both think about and experience poetry and music. Contributing poets include: Joshua Beckman, David Berman, Carrie St. George Comer, Gillian Conoley, Bob Hicok, Noelle Kocot, Dorothea Lasky, Brett Fletcher Lauer, Anthony McCann, Valzhyna Mort, Hoa Nguyen, Sierra Nelson, Tyehimba Jess, Travis Nichols, D.A. Powell, Matthew Rohrer, Mary Ruefle, James Tate, Joe Wenderoth, Dara Weir, and Matthew Zapruder.

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Australia -Culture Smart! appears on Oprah's Austalian Adventure! Culture Smart! provides essential information on attitudes, beliefs and behavior in different countries, ensuring that you arrive at your destination aware of basic manners, common courtesies, and sensitive issues. These concise guides tell you what to expect, how to behave, and how to establish a rapport with your hosts. This inside knowledge will enable you to steer clear of embarrassing gaffes and mistakes, feel confident in unfamiliar situations, and develop trust, friendships, and successful business relationships. Culture Smart! offers illuminating insights into the culture and society of a particular country. It will help you to turn your visit-whether on business or for pleasure-into a memorable and enriching experience. Contents include * customs, values, and traditions* historical, religious, and political background* life at home* leisure, social, and cultural life* eating and drinking* dos, don'ts, and taboos* business practices* communication, spoken and unspoken Culture Smart has come to the rescue of hapless travellers. Sunday Times Travel . . . the perfect introduction to the weird, wonderful and downright odd quirks and customs of various countries. Global Travel . . .full of fascinating-as well as common-sense-tips to help you avoid embarrassing faux pas. Observer . . .as useful as they are entertaining. Easyjet Magazine . . .offer glimpses into the psyche of a faraway world. New York Times

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This book is about having ideas and-a much longer haul-making them work. David Jones, best known for his Daedalus column, tells many stories about creators and their creations, including his own fantastical-seeming contributions to mainstream science-such as unrideable bicycles and chemical gardens in space. His theory of creativity endows each of us with a Random-Ideas Generator, a Censor, and an Observer-Reasoner. Jones applies the theory to a wide range of weird scientific experiments that he has conducted for serious scientific papers, for challenging printed expositions, and for presentations to a TV audience. He even suggests new ones, not yet tried! Creativity is as essential to science as curiosity, physical intuition, and shrewd deduction from well-planned experiments. But, says Jones, ingenuity is very uncertain-even for the greatest inventors, about 80 percent of ideas fail. Jokiness can help, and so can lots of random data. Jones has copious clever advice that will help you have that madly brilliant private thought in the first place-and will encourage you to take it further. Neither dense nor demanding, The Aha! Moment is engrossing, edifying, and scientifically serious; yet it is lightly written, has many jokes, and asks lots of silly questions. As Jones shows, it can often pay to take an absurd idea seriously.

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